Friendship is a two-way street
by Lysore
Summary: A heart to heart conversation can lead to different choices, which could perhaps have prevented two friends from growing apart. Sorting!AU Hufflepuff [oneshot]


**Notes**

 _I come back with another collection of short Sorting AUs centered around several characters, except this time, instead of the Divergent factions, it's about the Harry Potter Houses!_

 _The interactions from the beginning are taken nearly verbatim from Snape's memory in HP7._

 _The usual warning: no beta, all mistakes mine, yada, yada._

* * *

"This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

Lily nodded, mopping her eyes. She wanted to stay distraught: she hadn't wanted for her and Petunia to part on such horrid terms. Severus' obvious exhilaration was contagious, though, and brought her own feelings of anticipation back to the fore. In spite of herself, her mood began to lighten and she half smiled.

Encouraged, Severus hurried to continue, "You'd better be in Slytherin."

"Slytherin?"

One of the two boys sharing their compartment, who had shown no interest at all in her or Severus until that moment, intruded on their conversation, preventing Severus from elaborating.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked the grey-eyed boy who was sitting opposite him.

But the other boy didn't grin back, "my whole family has been in Slytherin."

"Blimey," the first child was visibly taken aback, "and I thought you seemed alright!"

"Maybe I'll break the tradition," the gray-eyed boy's grin was defiant and full of teeth. "Where are you heading if you've got the choice?"

The first boy mimicked lifting an invisible sword.

"I'll be in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!" he crowed. "Just like my dad."

Severus made a small, disparaging noise and Lily grimaced. Leaving Cokeworth, his father especially, seemed to have completely transformed him. Or perhaps it was the knowledge he was surrounded only by other magical people? She knew his upbringing hadn't taught him to value Muggles. He rarely spoke of his home life but one didn't have to be a genius to know his father wasn't a good person. She had even overheard her parents speak about Tobias Snape one day. They didn't have anything positive to say about him. Quite the opposite in fact. Even though she could some concessions because of this, it was still an unwelcome surprise to witness him being so argumentative.

Her bad feeling verified soon enough: hazel-eyes narrowed, the boy they belonged to turned to Severus and spat, "got a problem with that?"

"No," Severus answered to Lily's mounting discomfort. He lifted his chin and continued, "if you'd rather be brawny than brainy –"

"Ah but where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" the second boy interjected with a self satisfied smile that broadened when his friend roared with laughter at his quip.

Lily couldn't stand this anymore. Things were going downhill, those boys were gaining the upper hand, and Severus was being unusually defensive. Plus, her friend had some explaining to do because contrarily to what he had said during the summer, the Houses did seem to be important: the three were all being far too defensive of their positions for them not to be. She needed to have a private talk with Severus, and the sooner the better.

She stood up, feeling her cheeks heat when the two boys' attention switched to her.

She wouldn't back down before those rude wannabe bullies. She made a point of staring at each of them in turn with her most superior expression, before grabbing her friend by the sleeve. She tugged on it, forcing him to his feet, without breaking eye contact with the other two.

"Come on Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo …" They parodied her as she stepped past them. The brown-eyed boy even tried to trip Severus when they passed them to get to the compartment's door and he stumbled into her, nearly sending both of them sprawling on the corridor's ground.

'Don't react', Lily reminded herself, gritting her teeth. 'They are not worth it.'

"See ya, Snivellus!"

She slammed the door closed on this vile nickname.

"Lily –"

"No!" she rounded on him and he took a step back, hitting the door. "Don't say anything right now. You," she tapped a finger on his chest, "are going to let me calm down. And then, you're going to tell me what in the world this was all about!"

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Really? What bit you in there?" she hissed, pointing at their former compartment's door. "You know better than to antagonize people! What right did you have to criticize his father's House?"

He flushed and shrank on himself and she felt her indignation drain away. Severus was uneasy with people and often clumsy with his words. She clenched her fists but stopped when she saw him reflexively inching further away from her.

One day, Sev's father would get his due, she promised herself. In the meantime, she hoped Hogwarts would do him good and would teach him to avoid saying all the wrong words when he was upset.

She had hoped all summer that some time away from his home would allow him to get to know other Muggle-Borns like her. She was sure if he realized his father was a terrible exception and that more parents were like hers, it would make him more accepting. There was still time for that to happen but the previous altercation made her doubt that certainty. She didn't like this new facet of his personality the train ride was making emerge.

Lily took a few calming breathes before starting again.

"Come on," she made sure to keep her voice even and extended a hand towards him, palm up. "We're going to find another compartment and you'll explain to me how important the Houses really are."

He nodded and took her offered hand. His was clammy, but she didn't let it go. Together, they silently went up the train.

.

Unfortunately, all the compartments were occupied and most were full. She had been hoping they could have found an empty one for this conversation but luck wasn't on their side. As they reached one of the last wagons before the locomotive, she started to go over her memory of the compartments they had already seen. In the previous wagon, there had been a group of teens with uniforms coloured with yellow. The boys inside had seen they were looking for a place to sit and had immediately proposed they joined them. Since she had wished to have this conversation with Sev in private, she had declined, but perhaps they should backtrack and ask them if their offer was still standing.

She was just about to voice this thought to her friend when the door to their right opened, several girls spilling from it with luggage in their hands, clearly having been invited to join another compartment.

"I guess this one is free now?" Severus offered with a small, hopeful smile.

A complicit glance later and they were inside. Lily closed the blinds and drew the lock on the door so they would be left alone. She made an effort to give Severus some time to settle down. Once they were both seated, she could no longer contain herself.

"I want an explanation. And don't leave anything out this time."

Severus heaved a deep sigh. She recognized this habit of his. He knew she wouldn't like some of the things he was about to tell her and he was debating about how much he should divulge.

He was being ridiculous. Surely things couldn't be as bad as he thought. She knew he had no friends beside her so he was always afraid they would one day drift apart but they were on the same boat here: neither of them knew any of the other kids in their year. So surely this information couldn't threaten their friendship. On the other hand, him refusing to answer her sincerely would.

She wanted the truth, she _needed_ to know the truth. So she would have it. Her next seven years depended on which House she would get into and she didn't like surprises.

Just as she was opening her mouth to force him to finally answer her, he decided to speak.

"What do you want to know exactly?" his voice was a low, tired monotone.

He had apparently decided not to hold back. That was good, though his obvious reluctance was scaring her.

Lily stood up and started to pace in the small space of the compartment. Pacing always helped her release some of the tension.

"Why did you insult his father's House?"

Sev drew himself up, "he started it! He was the one who started speaking badly about Slytherin! My mother was sorted there!"

Lily stopped to think. That was true, he had mentioned it once. But that was no excuse either. And really? Was belonging to a House or another something of a family tradition? She hoped that wasn't the case. The last thing she wanted was to go to school with people who wanted to copy their magical parents in every way possible. At least, she didn't have that pressure. She was her own person, thank-you-very-much.

"You should have kept your calm Sev. You know how those things end."

She watched as all the fight seemed to drain from his too thin frame and his eyes turned pleading.

"I'll let that one slide, but you should be more careful. There is standing up for your mother and needlessly antagonizing people. Those boys won't forget you now."

"I know. It's just that for a moment I forgot..." he interrupted himself and Lily waited with baited breath for him to continue. Even though they had been spending nearly every waking moment together the last few years, he rarely confided in her about anything. He always preferred when they spoke about her.

"I thought Hogwarts was a new start, you know? You and me, together, becoming true wizards, learning real magic and meeting other people like us." He paused to take in a big gulp of air before continuing with a voice that kept decreasing in volume. "Mother nearly never speaks of when she was at Hogwarts but when she does, she always seems to regret her decision of leaving her Slytherin friends and family."

"So you thought it meant they were great people," 'contrarily to your father', she finished silently.

"Yes," he agreed earnestly, as if he had heard her whole sentence.

It was only because he looked so distressed that Lily changed the subject. They would tackle this issue another time. When he wanted to. She knew he would only close himself off if she pushed him now and she needed some other answers.

"What about the Houses? You said they weren't all that important but they clearly are. And try to be impartial on this."

Sev's pale face coloured. He _had_ hidden something from her. She crossed her arms and panted herself in front of him.

"They are important. A little." Lily frowned at him. An understatement again. Honestly, if he wanted to lie to her, he should at least put some efforts into it. Every time he tried to, it was as if he wanted her to call him out on it.

"Alright, not just a little. The Houses are very important. We'll get sorted into ours tonight. And they are a second family of sort. With people who resemble us. Mother said the school has an object that can see who we are and what we want and then it puts us into the House that fits us best."

Lily sat down beside him and nodded encouragingly, leaning towards him with interest.

"She also said sometimes, some people could go to several Houses so they can choose or something." He waved an arm in a vague gesture. "Beyond that, you know as much as I do. We've both read your copy of _Hogwarts, a history_ , and Father forbi–... he doesn't like it when Mother speaks to me about magic, so she never really told me anything we hadn't already read about. But I know the Houses are serious business, especially because parents always hope their kids will be sorted in the same House as them."

Lily grimaced internally. This was exactly what she had feared.

He brightened briefly, "the Prince – that's my mother's family – have all been in Slytherin and got married to other Slytherins for _generations_ ," before drooping again, "well... all of them except for my mother."

"And?" she prodded when he trailed off.

Severus visibly shook himself to get his thoughts back on track.

"People don't really interact between Houses. They mostly keep to themselves. Plus, Slytherin and Gryffindor don't get along. I think it's a sort of tradition to be enemies between them."

"I don't want enemies Sev. And I know you don't want enemies either."

Severus hunched on himself again.

"You're probably right. And Slytherin," he paused, clearly trying to word this carefully and impartially, as she had demanded of him, "Slytherin might not be a good House for you anyway. For both of us. Most of them don't like Muggles."

At least, this explained why he wanted to go to them. He likely thought they would helped him with his father and would take into account his ancestry in that House since it was that important.

Severus hurried to continue, "there are good and bad people in all the Houses, Mother said that too, but she did say Slytherin are not always very nice when I asked her about it," he grimaced and his tone turned bitter. "They all abandoned her when she decided to marry my father. Wouldn't have anything to do with her anymore, even that one time when she begged them for help," he said a little despondently.

Lily frowned. They didn't seem to be the sort of people she wanted to share a dorm with. Hell, she didn't want Severus to go and live with them either. She knew he tended to minimized the bad in everything. For him to say the Slytherins weren't nice people was tantamount to him admitting they had rejected his mother because they didn't like her marrying with someone without magic. In Eileen's specific case, that could have been understandable. But from Severus' behaviour and care in choosing his words, it looked like they were a close-minded bunch and she didn't want to know what would happen to her should she have to live amongst them. If they didn't like Muggles, would they hold her parentage against her? Why had he even wanted her to go there?

"I was only thinking I wanted to be in my mother's House and it would be great if we were together," Severus continued sheepishly.

That, if anything, told her how conflicted he was about telling her this. Perhaps he had never really thought about the true impact being placed into their Houses would have on them.

"But now that I think of it, it could be a bad idea."

She nearly didn't catch this last mumbled sentence. She was certain it hadn't been meant for her ears so she pretended she hadn't heard it.

It steeled Lily's resolve though. She wouldn't go to Slytherin. Beyond that, Sev would have to choose: either he followed her where she went if he could, or he chose to go to the House that abandoned him and his mother in their time of need. A House that probably wouldn't look on her kindly. She hoped he wouldn't end up in Slytherin. If his strange behaviour from earlier was any indication and he had believed he had been acting like a Slytherin ought to with those two boys, then she knew this House twist her best friend and she didn't know if their friendship was strong enough to survive this.

.

The Great Hall was magnificent. Lily could barely take her eyes off the transparent ceiling and had to rely on Severus to steer her in the right direction. It was the most magical thing she had ever seen.

She listened attentively to the Hat's song and the clues it gave about the Houses' values. It was over far too quickly and the Sorting began.

Lily watched as the grey-eyed boy from earlier, a "Black, Sirius" stayed under the Hat for a little more than a minute.

During that time, she took a decision. She didn't want to share all of her classes and her dorm with his sort of people for seven years. She wouldn't go to whichever House he went. She really hoped he wouldn't get into Gryffindor. It had seemed like such a nice House. If he managed to get into it, then his rude friend would too. If that was the sort of people wizards considered brave and chivalrous, she didn't want to be like them.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily felt a pang of disappointment go through her and gazed mournfully at the loudly cheering red and gold coloured table. Gryffindor had looked like a nice House, she was sure she would have liked it there.

She nearly reconsidered her previous decision, but one look in his direction let her see the cocky smile he exchanged with the other boy from earlier and contempt crawled up her spine. No, she would stick with her earlier promise to herself.

"Evans, Lily."

She froze for a few heartbeats. Severus' hand briefly clenched around hers before letting go. Without looking at him, she slowly approached the stool on trembling legs. Her heart was beating fast with anxiety and excitement both. Even her hands were shaking uncontrollably when she sat down and she clenched them together so less people would see it.

She chanced a look upwards and saw the Professor smiling kindly at her as she lowered the singing Sorting Hat on her head.

Just like with the other students, it was far too large for her and the brim fell down to her nose, obscuring her vision completely.

She nearly jumped from her seat when a voice began to speak softly to her, almost like a foreign thought going through her head.

"Not Gryffindor, eh? And not Slytherin either? The second I understand but why not the first one? You certainly have the potential for it."

Images of the train ride's altercation came back to her. The Hat had deemed one of those boys worthy of Gryffindor and she was nothing like them.

A soft laugh echoed through her mind.

"So be it. It shall be a choice between Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Both could suit you well but you are more likely to thrive the most in HUFFLEPUFF!"

The last word was shouted for the whole Hall to hear and the Hat was removed from her head. She looked down at her uniform in wonder to see the black peel away from certain places in favour of a warm shade of yellow. Loyalty, hard-work, and open-mindedness. Bravery and courage were inspiring but she liked the sound of that too.

She stood up to the sound of the cheers coming from her new House's table. Just before going to join them, she caught Sev's eyes.

'It's your choice now' she tried to tell him with her eyes alone. 'I've done all I could so we could be together while still being in a House I'll love living in.'

Then she turned and hurried to her table. The boys from earlier in the train gave her the thumbs up when she walked past them to reach a honey haired first year girl. She made way for Lily on the bench with a warm smile and waited until she was comfortably seated to introduce herself as Amelia Bones.

.

Lily applauded with enthusiasm alongside her new housemates for each new arrival in Hufflepuff and exchanged a few words with Amelia, but couldn't stop her anxiety from returning the closer the list came to the letter 'S'.

Meanwhile, the other boy from her first compartment, the one who had tripped Sev on the way out and come up with that degrading nickname, a "Potter, James," was sorted in Gryffindor in two seconds flat. Lily felt a little comforted by this. Him getting his wish meant she wouldn't have to spend too much time in his presence. She even sent Severus a small smile but he didn't see it. His expression was closed, and his eyes kept flickering between her, the Slytherin table, and the Sorting Hat.

All the warm, fuzzy feelings of belonging she had had since she had taken her place at her table evaporated and her stomach clenched painfully.

.

"Snape, Severus."

Despite her best efforts to catch his eyes, Severus kept his trained on his feet while he walked up to the Deputy Headmistress to be sorted. Lily finally managed to make eye contact when he sat down and was briefly taken aback by the unhealthy pallor of his skin. He looked like he was about to faint. All too quickly, the Hat covered most of his face.

It was silent for a dozen of seconds. She saw Sev swallow with difficulty before the answer finally came.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Lily's shoulders sagged as some tension she hadn't realized she was feeling left her. A blinding smile spread on her lips and she enthusiastically clapped along with the rest of her – and now their – table.

She was a witch. She was at Hogwarts to learn magic. Her House seemed full of nice people. Her friend had chosen her back. Life was good.

* * *

 **End Notes**

 _This was based on the premise that Lily and Severus tried to remain friends for as long as they could before they parted ways. I think it showed they had a great deal of loyalty for each other if nothing else, and it would have earned them a place for Hufflepuff if they had objected to the Hat's first choice for them._

 _If you've read this far, I would welcome any form of feedback on this short story :)_


End file.
